Monday, 19 October 2015

Inspired by the colors of the autumn leaves and the intricate patterns of vintage doilies, I decided to make an attempt to design my #autumndoily.

I made this doily using Scheepjes Cotton 8 4-ply yarn and a 3mm hook. This doily has a diameter of approximately 34cm. At the end of this tutorial, I would suggest blocking your doily though not necessarily.

Notes:

For this tutorial, I have excluded the details on how to begin with the new round. It is up to you decide on whether you would like to start the new round with chain stitches or standing stitches.

Work *(3dc, ch1, 3dc) in ch space. Ch2.* Repeat *to* all the way round.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 4:

Start the round in any ch1 sp of round 3.

Work *(3dc, ch1, 3dc) in ch1 space. Ch5.* Repeat *to* all the way round.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 5:

Start the round in any ch1 space of round 4.

Work *(3dc, ch3, 3dc) in ch1 space. Ch3. Long sc in ch2 space of round 3. Ch3.* Repeat *to* all the way round.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 6:

Start the round in any ch3 space(i.e. the tip of any petals) of round 5.

Work *1sc in tip of petal. Ch5. 1 v-stitch (i.e. 1tr, ch1, 1tr) in the long sc st. Ch5.* Repeat *to* all the way round.

Sl into the 1st sc of this round.

Round 7:

Start the round in the ch5 sp on the left of any sc.

Work *(4dc, dc2tog) in next ch5 space. Ch2. 1dc in ch1 space of v-stitch. Ch2. (dc2tog, 4dc) in next ch5 space. Ch1.* Repeat *to* all the way round.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 8:

Start the round in the 2nd stitch of round 7.

Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in next 3 stitches.

Work *Ch3. 1sc in ch2 sp. 1sc in next stitch, 1sc in ch2 sp. Ch3. 1dc in next 4 st. Ch2. (Skip 2dc st. 1dc in next 4 st).* Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 9:

Start the round in the 2nd st of round 8.

Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in the next 2 st.

Work *1 dc in ch3 sp. Ch2. Dc3tog in next 3sc st. Ch3. 1dc in ch3 sp. 1 dc in next 3 st. Ch2. 1dc in ch2 sp. Ch2. (Skip 1 st. 1dc in next 3 st.)*

Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 10:

Start the round in the 3rd st of round 9.

Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in the next st.

Work *2dc in ch2 sp. Ch2. 1sc in top of dc3tog. Ch3. 2dc in ch3 sp. 1 dc in next 2 st. Ch3. 1sc in ch2 sp. 1sc in next st. 1sc in ch2 sp. Ch3. (Skip 2 st. 1dc in next 2 st.)*

Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 11:

Start the round in the 3rd st of round 10.

Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in the next st.

Work *3dc in ch2 sp. Ch1. 3dc in ch3 sp. 1dc in next 2 st. Ch4. Dc3tog in next 3 st. Ch4. (Skip 2 st. 1dc in next 2 st.)*

Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 12:

Start the round in the 2nd st of round 11.

Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in the next 3 st.

Work *1dc in ch1 sp. 1dc in next 4 st. Ch2. 1dc in ch4 sp. Ch3. 1sc in top of dc3tog. Ch3. 1dc in ch4 space. Ch2. (Skip 1 st. 1dc in next 4 st.)*

Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 13:

Start the round in the 3rd st of round 12.

Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in the next 4 st.

Work *Ch4. 1sc in ch2 sp. 1sc in next st. 1sc in ch3 sp. Ch5. 1sc in ch3 sp. 1sc in next st. 1sc in ch2 sp. Ch4. (Skip 2 st. 1dc in next 5 st.)*

Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 14:

Start the round in the 2nd st of round 13.

Work dc3tog in current and next 2 st.

Work *Skip the next dc st. Ch8. Dc3tog in next 3sc st. Ch3. 1sc in ch5 space. Ch3. Dc3tog in next 3 st. Ch8. (Skip 1 st. Dc3tog in next 3 st).*

Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.

Sl into the top of dc3tog of this round.

Round 15:

Start the round in the 1st dc3tog of round 14.

Work 1 dc in the same stitch.

Work *Ch4. 1dc in ch8 sp. Ch4. 1dc in top of dc3tog. Ch3. 1dc in ch3 sp. Ch3. 1dc in next ch3 sp. Ch3. 1dc in top of dc3tog. Ch4. 1dc in ch8 sp. Ch4. (1dc in top of dc3tog.)*

Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 16 and 17:

Start the round in any ch sp of round 15.

Work (1dc in ch sp, ch4) all the way round.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 18:

Start the round in any ch sp of round 17.

Work (4dc in ch sp, ch1) all the way round.

Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 19:

Start the round in any ch sp of round 18.

Work (1sc in ch sp, ch4) all the way round.

Sl into the 1st sc of this round.

Round 20:

Start the round in any ch sp of round 19.

Work (sc, hdc, dc, tr, dc, hdc, sc) in each ch space all the way round.

Sl into the 1st sc of this round.

PS: It has taken me the longest time so far to finalize a pattern. I spent several late nights creating many versions of this pattern as I was very determined to make it work. Even though it might be far from a perfect design in the eyes of some, I'm glad that I didn't give up on trying.

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." - Joseph Chilton Pearce

Monday, 17 August 2015

Writing my #wallflowermandala pattern tutorial has been a challenging and enjoyable experience to me. In addition, I have also received quite positive response from both google+ communities and Instagrammers. Thank you so much for your kind comments. It means alot to me.Today I would like to share with you my latest mandala pattern. I call it Jo's Popcorn Flower Mandala (#jopcfmandala). I made this mandala using cotton yarn (scheepjes cotton 8 and hema fine cotton) and a 3mm hook. The finished mandala has a diameter of approximately 19cm. I would rate the level of difficulty as 'intermediate'. Before we begin, please take a moment to go through the special notes below.

Special Notes:

For popcornstitch, I'm making 4 double crochet instead of the standard 5dc in a group.

For both popcorn stitch and tr3tog, chain 1 to close the group. This is not to be confused with the chain stitches mentioned under Steps section.

Insert your hook into the top loops of the dc and make one sc. (photo2)

I'm working each round with a new color. I hope you will enjoy making this mandala. Let's begin!

Steps:

Round 1:

Start with a magic ring. Work 8 sc into the ring.

Sl into the top of the first sc. Fasten off.

Total: 8sc

Round 2:

Join new color in any stitch. Work a beg popcorn stitch in same stitch. (Please refer to special notes above if you have not done so). Mark your closing chain if you are going to have problem identifying it later.

Chain 1.

Work (1 popcorn stitch, ch 1) in each stitch all the way around.

Sl into the closing chain of the first popcorn (see small image above). Fasten off.

Total: 8 popcorn stitches, 8 ch1 spaces.

Round 3:

Join new color in any ch1 space. Work a beg popcorn stitch in same chain space. Ch 1.

Work another popcorn stitch in same space. Ch 1.

Work (1 popcorn stitch, ch 1) twice in each chain space all the way around.

Sl into the closing chain of the first popcorn. Fasten off.

Total: 16 popcorn stitches, 16 ch1 spaces.

Round 4:

Join new color in any ch1 space. Ch3 (counts as 1dc).

Work 2 dc in same space. Ch1.

Repeat (3dc, ch1) in each chain space all the way around.

Sl into the 3rd ch of initial ch3. Fasten off.

Total: 16 groups of 3dc, 16 ch1 spaces.

Round 5:

Join new color in any ch1 space. Ch4 (counts as 1dc and ch1 space).

Skip one stitch. Work 1dc into the next stitch. Ch1. Skip 1 stitch.

Repeat (1dc in ch space, ch1, skip 1, 1dc in the next stitch, ch1, skip 1) all the way around.

Sl into the 3rd chain of initial ch4. Fasten off.

Total: 32 dc, 32 ch1 spaces.

Round 6:

Join new color in any ch1, space. Work beg tr3tog in same space. Ch2.

Repeat (tr3tog, ch2) in each space all the way around.

Sl into the closing chain of beg tr3tog. Fasten off.

Total: 32 tr3tog, 32 ch2 spaces.

Round 7:

Join new color in any ch2 space. Work beg tr3tog in same space. Ch1.

Work 1 tr3tog in next chain space. Ch3.

Repeat (1 tr3tog in next space, ch1, 1 tr3tog in next space, ch3) all the way around.

Sl into the closing chain of beg tr3tog.

Total: 32 tr3tog, 16 ch3 spaces, 16 ch1 spaces.

Round 8:

Join new color in any ch1 space. Ch2 in same space (counts as 1sc).

In the next ch3 space, work (1dc, 5 picot dc, 1dc).

Repeat (1sc in next ch1 space, (1dc, 5 picot dc, 1dc) in next ch3 space) all the way around.

Tuesday, 21 July 2015

I have designed and crocheted for myself a few mandalas before, but it has always been through rough sketching or experimenting on the spot.

This time round, I have decided to try writing down pattern and sharing it with the community. This humble little mandala is actually a mini version of my other mandala which I have posted on Instagram few weeks ago. I hope that the written steps are clear and easy to understand for you. If you've any questions of found any errors, please let me know :)

Btw, if you're keen to try this pattern, I would love to see your finished mandalas. :) Please tag your photos with #wallflowermandala on Instagram or leave a comment below with a link to your blog. A link back to my Instagram account (@joakhui80) or my blog (http://ohmilly.blogspot.com) would be much appreciated. Thank you very much!

I made this mandala using cotton yarn(scheepjes cotton 8 and hema fine cotton) and a 3mm hook. The finished mandala has a diameter of approximately 14cm. The steps are written in US terms:

Friday, 17 July 2015

I received a set of clover amour crochet hook set with no casing for my birthday this year. These ergonomic hooks are extremely comfortable to hold and use. I decided to make my own crochet hook case to give them a 'home'. I wanted my case to be bright and colorful with a few pocket slots to hold the hooks. Recently, I've fallen in love with spike stitch as you can make wonderful patterns out of it. So, this will be a good chance for me to play around with spike stitch.

Using cotton yarn in 10 different colors, I created a piece measuring approximately 23 x 18 cm with diamond shape patterns.

As you can see from the close-up view below, I made 5 rows of single crochet (sc) with each color. For every first row of color change, repeat spike stitch pattern.

I made a inner lining of the same measurement as the front piece using the color beige...

and a separate pocket piece, measuring approximately 23 x 10 cm.

For this piece, I made 2 rows of sc with each color and spike stitch pattern upon color change.

After I was done with the all the 3 pieces (front, back and pocket), I lined them up together, joining them along the edges using sc.

Here is the result.

Here comes the part where I had to sew individual pocket slots. As I wanted to create a seamless look for my pocket piece, therefore, I had to sew through the back of pocket piece together with the inner lining.

The seams are now hidden behind the pocket piece.

I also inserted two pieces of cardboard measuring 10 x 17 cm each in between the front and back pieces to give it a 'backbone'.